Lost $300 on a cheap underwater camera housing last month

I bought one of those no-name brand housings off Amazon for a dive inspection job near Port Arthur. Thought I was saving money but the housing flooded at 40 feet on my second use. Fried my Sony camera that cost me $800 used. The seller ghosted me when I tried to file a claim too. Has anyone else gotten burned by bargain gear that wasn't rated for actual commercial work?

3 comments

3 Comments

loganburns1mo ago

450 bucks for a "waterproof to 100 feet" housing on Amazon and it leaked at 30 feet on the first dive... guess that's what I get for trying to save a hundred bucks. Seller just deleted their storefront and vanished like a fart in the wind. At least my camera was a cheap used one, but still hurt losing that footage from the shipwreck I was documenting.

anna7581mo ago

Yeah that "fart in the wind" part hit hard because I've been there too. Next time check if the seller has a real address and phone number before you buy, Amazon's full of fly-by-night stores that vanish after a few sales. Also grab one of those moisture alarm stickers that change color if water gets in, cheap insurance to know before your gear gets fried.

tessa3941mo ago

Those moisture alarm stickers are actually meant for dry bags and storage boxes, not dive housings. They change color from humidity in the air, not from a sudden flood. By the time they'd turn red your camera would already be toast. The real trick is to do a leak test before every dive - put the empty housing in a bucket of water with some paper towels inside and pressurize it a bit. If you see any bubbles or wet paper, don't take it deeper than 10 feet. For cheap housings, another thing people miss is checking the o-ring groove for molding flash from the factory, that's what usually causes the leak.